1923The French enter the town of Essen in
the Ruhr valley, to extract Germany's resources as war payment.

1934The German police raid the homes of
dissident clergy in Berlin.

1941Adolf Hitler orders forces to be
prepared to enter North Africa to assist the Italian effort, marking the
establishment of the Afrika Korps.

1940Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. , becomes the
U.S. Army's first black general, his son would later become a general as well.

1942Japan invades the Dutch East Indies at
Borneo.

1943The Soviet Red Army encircles
Stalingrad.

1948President Harry S. Truman proposes free,
two-year community colleges for all who want an education.

1949Negotiations in China between the
Nationalists and Communists open as Tientsin is virtually lost to the
Communists.

1964A collection of previously unexhibited
paintings by Pablo Picasso are displayed for the first time in Toronto.

1980Honda announces it will build the
first Japanese-owned passenger-car assembly plant in the United States--in
Ohio.

1994The Irish Government announces an end
to a 15-year ban on broadcasting by the IRA and its political branch, Sinn
Fein.

2003Illinois Gov. George Ryan commutes the
death sentences of 167 prisoners on the state's death row in the wake of
allegations that Chicago police detective and commander Jon Burge tortured
confessions from some 200 suspects over a 19 year period.